The rain giveth, and the rain taketh away. A sudden storm over Coors Field in Denver shifted momentum in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ favour during their 8-1 win over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday.
The Dodgers got on the scoreboard early thanks to a bizarre twist just before the heavens opened, but the nearly one-and-a-half hour rain delay meant their ace pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto could not finish the way he might have liked.
Still, the Dodgers used the weather chaos to their advantage. They scored two runs before the rain halted play, and when it was all over, they became the first team in the National League to reach 50 wins this season.
Manager Dave Roberts reflected on how the storm changed things. “Their pitcher was tough to figure out, and so was Yamamoto. If the game had stayed scoreless going into the sixth, it might have been a different ball game.”
The match was locked at nil-all in the top of the sixth. Both Yamamoto and Rockies starter Chase Dollander had been impressive, but rain warnings soon rang out and fans were told to clear the upper decks. Then the skies opened.
At the time, Dodgers’ Dalton Rushing and Shohei Ohtani were both in scoring position with two outs. Max Muncy hit a popup to the right infield but the heavy rain made it impossible for Rockies defenders to see the ball clearly. Second baseman Thairo Estrada thought he had it, but it dropped just in front of first baseman Michael Toglia.
Rushing and Ohtani dashed home to give the Dodgers a 2-0 lead just before the grounds crew pulled the tarp over the field.
Muncy later joked, “My glasses were full of water. I was just praying to get the ball in play. When the rain is coming down that thick, it is really hard to find a baseball in the air.”
The rain delay did not stop Muncy from adding to the lead, hitting his second grand slam in three games during the seventh inning.
Yamamoto had been cruising, pitching five scoreless innings on just 56 throws with six strikeouts against only one hit and one walk. Facing a Rockies team struggling at 18-62, Yamamoto was focused on attacking hitters early and getting ahead in the count.
Pitching at altitude in Denver is never easy, but Yamamoto delivered one of his best starts this season. His five innings without conceding a run made him the first Dodgers pitcher since Clayton Kershaw in June 2023 to have a scoreless start of five innings or more at Coors Field.
Dodgers boss Roberts praised Yamamoto’s approach. “He was fantastic. Using his curveball, split, and fastball perfectly. Yoshi gave us exactly what we needed tonight.”
Victory formation!
Dodgers x @Yaamava pic.twitter.com/4Lo5XNQpgh
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) June 26, 2025
Photo: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
